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— Freddie Freeman has 13 hits, four homers in his first seven games in Rogers Centre in Toronto.

— Miami Marlins are already committed to paying $95.3M to only eight players next season- their payroll is a total mess. They’ve ranked 25th or lower in attendance the last five years. Oy.

**************************

Wednesday’s List of 13: Mid-week musings………

13) Further proof the world is slowly going crazy…..

“Volunteers at an overdose prevention site in Vancouver say they saved the life of a (pet) rat named Snuggles after the little rodent overdosed on heroin.”ť

CNBC reported the pet rat was brought in by a woman who said it had eaten heroin off a table.

You cannot make this stuff up.

12) Cosmopolitan Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas started charging customers to park this week, the 23rd Strip property to charge customers to park in visits to resorts. Self-park is $7-10 a day; valet parking is $13-18 a day.

11) Supposedly, one of the main reasons that Ben Simmons spent his six months of college at LSU is because lot of higher-profile college programs weren’t fond of the idea of having a camera crew following him around all season, for the infomercial his people did on him that aired on Showtime.

I mean, how do you do a 90-minute “documentary” on a basketball player, but never have either his high school or college coach on to talk? Supposedly Simmons has grown another two inches since we last saw him play– he is now just about 7-feet tall. I’ll be very curious to see him play in NBA games.

10) Since 2005, there have been 30 games that weren’t played at Coors Field that had a total of 12 or more runs. Under was 17-13 in those games.

8) 16.9% of Ben Roethlisberger’s passing attempts last year went 20+ yards downfield; the next highest percentage of any NFL QB last year was Cam Newton, at 13.9%.

7) For the first time in 10 years, the winner of the Main Event at the World Series of Poker will be crowned in July and not November. Wish they would legalize online poker in this country so ESPN would start showing the WSOP the way it used to- enjoyed watching that stuff.

6) Diamondbacks’ catcher Chris Iannetta was hit in the face by a pitch over the weekend; he broke his nose, a couple teeth and got stitches in his upper lip. Catchers are tough people.

5) Stanford/Long Beach State will play basketball the next three years; this year in Long Beach, the next two years on the Farm. At least Stanford goes on the road once, more than most Power 5 schools do.

Tulsa/Oklahoma State will play a home/home series starting this winter, which is very unusual.

4) Back in late January, Alabama opened as -4.5 over Florida State in the college football season opener this fall. That spread is now Alabama -7.

3) Alabama hired Yasir Rosemond as an assistant basketball coach; he has extensive recruiting ties in the Atlanta area- he previously was an assistant at Georgia and Oregon.

2) Old Italian proverb: “When the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.”ť

1) Geddy Lee, lead singer of Rush, was at the Braves-Blue Jays game in Toronto Tuesday. Lee is a huge baseball fan and apparently has a great memorabilia collection.

NEW YORK (AP) It was a good opening weekend for the WNBA on the court and an even better one off the court.

The league had its first live streamed game on Twitter on Sunday with Diana Taurasi and Phoenix facing Skylar Diggins-Smith and Dallas. There were 1.1 million unique viewers and an average minute audience of 62,459 watching. That's about a third of what the NFL drew on average for its 10 Thursday Night Football games.

Twitter, which counts a view when a video is 50 percent in view for two seconds, said that the game was watched across the U.S. and worldwide. Twitter also unveiled a WNBA emoji when fans tweeted (hash)WNBA or (hash)WNBALive.

''This is a new season and you always want to not only maintain your momentum, but accelerate it,'' WNBA President Lisa Borders told The Associated Press.

''It's all about the fan base and growing the league. Twitter and Fanduel are two tools for us to grow. They are great partnerships. Having them so well received was a huge success all the way around.''

The idea of streaming games came from a conversation Borders had with Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd this past winter.

''She asked me about ideas to help grow the game,'' Loyd said Monday night. ''Being overseas and watching the Super Bowl on Twitter, I was like why don't we try to get a lot of our games on Twitter so it's global. Our overseas fans don't get to watch us in the WNBA and now going on Twitter they can, it expands our game.''

Loyd had a stellar opening weekend herself, averaging 26 points two games for the Storm.

''People get a chance to see the best players in the world and saw some really good games this past weekend,'' Loyd said. ''The league is getting better, games are getting more competitive.''

The next Twitter game is Friday night with Phoenix visiting the San Antonio Stars. The social media site, which has a three-year deal with the WNBA, will show 20 games this season. Only games that are not on television can be seen online.

Fans also flocked to FanDuel to play WNBA daily fantasy games with more than 30,000 competing. There were nearly 26,000 players on FanDuel for the free tipoff challenge Saturday where the winner earned two courtside tickets to a game. Just over 10,000 fans played Sunday's version of the game.

''We had more than 30,000 people play WNBA on opening weekend and have great momentum going into the rest of the season,'' FanDuel spokeswoman Justine Sacco said.

Both Twitter and FanDuel did have a few small glitches. The Twitter streamed game didn't have the time and score graphic in the opening quarter.

That was fixed by the second period. FanDuel had a few players that were still playing overseas or injured listed as eligible to be picked. Angel McCoughtry, who is sitting out this season to rest was on 20 percent of the rosters for the free tournament on Saturday.

Kayla McBride, who is still playing in Turkey in the playoffs was owned by 38 percent of the players. Chiney Ogwumike, who is injured and out for the season was owned by nearly 31 percent of the users.

''We hoped and expected for the community to widely embrace Twitter and FanDuel. It's the first year,'' Borders said.

''Our community is so passionate about the game and we knew they'd love it. But can we expand and have more people love it? Those who were unfamiliar with the WNBA in FanDuel, would the fantasy community embrace us and it appears that they have done so and we're ecstatic.''

WASHINGTON (AP) Elena Delle Donne scored 24 points in her Washington debut and the Mystics never trailed in their WNBA season opener, beating the San Antonio Stars 89-74 on Sunday.

The 2015 MVP joined the Mystics in an offseason trade with Chicago. She played just 23 minutes as she dealt with foul trouble. Tayler Hill added 15 points.

Former Mystic Monique Currie had a career-high 31 points for San Antonio, which was without its top two scorers from last year and No. 1 overall draft pick Kelsey Plum because of injuries. The Stars were coming off a season-opening loss in New York on Saturday.

Fowles had seven points in the fourth quarter, scoring each time after the Sky twice pulled within three points. Rebekkah Brunson scored four straight to give Minnesota a 69-59 lead with 2:20 remaining.

Maya Moore added 11 points, but was 1 of 11 from 3-point range, for the Lynx in the opener for both teams. Tamara Young scored 14 points, and Jessica Breland had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Sky.

WINGS 68, MERCURY 58

PHOENIX (AP) - Rookie Kaela Davis scored 20 points to help Dallas beat Phoenix in the season opener for both teams.

Davis, a first-round draft pick from NCAA champion South Carolina, went 6 of 10 from the field and 8 of 8 from the line and did not miss a shot until the fourth quarter.

Note: WNBA.com’s Power Rankings, released every Tuesday during the season, are the opinion of this writer and do not reflect the views of the WNBA or its clubs.

In our first power rankings of the regular season, we’ll take a look at the first impressions that players and teams made over tipoff weekend. What we won’t do is overreact to them by making wild swings in the rankings after a total of seven games have been played in the 2017 season.

Only Seattle and San Antonio have played more than one game, and neither did it with a full complement of players. Between injuries and players still fulfilling overseas commitments, few teams were at full strength this weekend. Once each team has its full complement of players and a few games under their belts, we’ll have a clearer picture to present.

Until then, we had some first impressions that were quite impressive and a few that were a bit puzzling to watch unfold. Let’s dive in.

The Lynx opened the season with a win over Chicago despite Maya Moore having a shooting performance she’d rather forget. Moore finished with 11 points on 5-19 shooting from the field and 1-11 from deep, but led the team with six assists. Minnesota was powered by Sylvia Fowles’ 26 points and 10 rebounds, the first of many double-doubles that will come this season.

The new-look Mystics were solid in their first regular-season outing, with Elena Delle Donne scoring 24 points in just 23 minutes to lead Washington past San Antonio. Last season’s top two scorers – Emma Meesseman and Tayler Hill – added 13 and 15 points, respectively, while Toliver had eight points and four assists in her first game back in the DMV.

Similar to Moore in Minnesota, New York’s Tina Charles had a rough shooting performance (5-19), but her team still picked up a win in its season debut. New York’s starting five combined for 41 points on 14-38 (36.8%) shooting, while its bench contributed 32 points on a much more efficient 12-23 (52.2%).

Seattle was one of two teams to open the season with a back-to-back, and it came out of the weekend with a split despite not having Sue Bird for either game and Breanna Stewart for one. While Stewart made several key plays in the closing minutes to lift Seattle past Indiana, the weekend belonged to Jewell Loyd, who had 25 in a loss to L.A. and 27 in the win over Indiana, shooting 10-18 from the field in each game and a combined 5-10 from deep.

Rookie Kaela Davis had an impressive debut for the Wings as she finished with 20 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals off the bench in Dallas’ 68-58 win over Phoenix on Sunday. Davis and the rest of the bench matched Dallas’ starting five in points (34 apiece), but did so much more efficiently as the reserves shot 12-22 (54.5%) from the field compared to 13-40 (32.5%) for the starters. Similar to Moore and Charles above, Skylar Diggins-Smith (2-12) is a much better shooter than what she showed in game No. 1 of 34.

In the latest edition of superstars having off shooting nights to open the 2017 season, we present Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi, who went just 1-11 from the field and 1-9 from deep in the Mercury’s loss to Dallas on Sunday. Taurasi was the only Phoenix player to shoot less than 50 percent, but the team shot just 21.1 percent from downtown and 53.3 percent on free throws while being outrebounded 41-17 in the 68-58 loss. Phoenix’s 58 points were its fewest since being held to 56 by Minnesota nearly two years ago (June 27, 2015).
8. Atlanta Dream
Preseason Ranking: 9
2017 Record: 1-0
OffRtg: 96.4 (6); DefRtg: 88.1 (5); NetRtg: 8.3 (6)

The Dream opened up their season with a win over Connecticut as four players – Tiffany Hayes (19), Bria Holmes (15), Layshia Clarendon (14) and Damiris Dantas (13) – all scored in double figures. Atlanta committed just eight turnovers and paraded to the free throw line for 27 attempts, where it made 25, including a record 21 in the first half alone. Whether that type of effort is repeatable remains to be seen.

The Fever got strong showings from Briann January (23 points), Shenise Johnson (24 points) and Tiffany Mitchell (17 points off the bench), but the rest of their squad scored just 18 points combined on 7-30 (23.3%) shooting in the season-opening loss to Seattle. Indiana was outrebounded by nine and committed 10 more fouls than Seattle, which put the Storm on the line 27 times compared to Indiana’s 15 attempts.

The Sky lost the league’s second-leading scorer in the offseason, and it showed in their season debut, a 70-61 loss to Minnesota. Stefanie Dolson (4-6) and Kahleah Cooper (3-6) – the two players that came over from Washington in the Delle Donne trade – were the only ones to shoot better than 43 percent for the game. The rest of the squad shot just 17-56 (30.4%) as the Sky finished 1-7 from downtown and 12-19 from the free throw line. That adds up to a league-low 72.6 offensive rating.

Despite dropping their season-opener to Atlanta on Saturday, the Sun did get strong performances by second-year players Morgan Tuck (career-high 21 points), Jonquel Jones (career-high 20 rebounds) and Courtney Williams (18 points off the bench). Connecticut touts one of the youngest teams in the WNBA, with six-year veteran Jasmine Thomas as its most experienced player. Continuing to develop young talent like the trio above will pay dividends down the line for the Sun.

The Stars had to play their first two games of the season with their top picks from the last two drafts – 2017 No. 1 overall pick Kelsey Plum and 2016 No. 2 overall pick Moriah Jefferson – sidelined with injuries. With the Stars of the future out of action, it provided a huge opportunity for veterans like Monique Currie to step up. The 11-year vet followed up a 23-point effort in the season opener against New York with a career-best 31 points in San Antonio’s loss to Washington on Sunday.

The following tiebreak procedure shall be used to break ties for playoff eligibility and home court advantage.

a. Two-Way Tie Between Teams. In order to break a tie, the following criteria will be utilized in the order set forth:
(1) Better record in head-to-head games.

(2) Better winning percentage against all teams with .500 or better record at the end of the season.

(3) Better point differential in games net result of total points scored less total points allowed head-to-head.

(4) Better point differential net result of total points scored less total points allowed against all opponents.
b. More Than Two Teams Tied. As many teams as possible will be eliminated at each step. As soon as one or more teams are eliminated at any step, the process must begin again from step (1).

INDIANA (0 - 1) at PHOENIX (0 - 1) - 5/17/2017, 10:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
INDIANA is 22-11 ATS (+9.9 Units) in a road game where where the total is greater than or equal to 150 over the last 3 seasons.
INDIANA is 29-15 ATS (+12.5 Units) in May games since 1997.
PHOENIX is 13-33 ATS (-23.3 Units) in May games since 1997.
PHOENIX is 6-16 ATS (-11.6 Units) in home games in May, June, or July games over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
PHOENIX is 3-3 against the spread versus INDIANA over the last 3 seasons
INDIANA is 4-2 straight up against PHOENIX over the last 3 seasons
3 of 6 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

10:00 PMINDIANA vs. PHOENIX
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Indiana's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Indiana's last 7 games when playing Phoenix
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Phoenix's last 5 games at home
Phoenix is 13-5 SU in its last 18 games at home

Griner had 21 points and six rebounds in the first half to help Phoenix jump out to a 52-29 lead. She was 9 of 10 from the field in the half and finished 13 of 15. Taurasi grabbed six rebounds to become the first player in WNBA history with 7,000 points, 1,500 assists, and 1,500 boards.

13) Today’s weird story: The king of the Netherlands has revealed he has been living a secret double life as a co-pilot for a commercial airline.

For 21 years, King Willem-Alexander has taken to the skies twice a month to ferry passengers around on short-haul services for the Dutch airline KLM.

Go figure.

12) They’re honoring the 1967 World Champion Cardinals in St Louis this week; they had Steve Carlton on TV for half an inning Tuesday night, mainly because Tim McCarver is one of the TV guys for the Cardinals now- he and Carlton are great friends.

Was interesting to hear Carlton, who doesn’t speak publicly much, if ever. He doesn’t own a TV now so he doesn’t follow baseball much these days, but he talked about how he and Bob Boone didn’t see pitch selection the same way when he was on the Phillies, which is how McCarver became his personal catcher at the end of each of their careers.

McCarver was great when he did Mets’ games on local TV in the 80’s and he is really good now, but why was he not as good on FOX national broadcasts? Seriously, he just sounded like a different person on national TV, less relaxed.

11) Chris Davis homered in the 12th AND 13th inning Tuesday night in Detroit; to the best of my researching ability, he is the 4th major leaguer ever to homer in consecutive extra innings:

a) August 12, 1966— Art Shamsky homered in the 10th/11th innings, but the Reds lost in the 13th inning to Pittsburgh

b) June 4, 2013— John Mayberry Jr homered twice against the Marlins- his walk-off grand slam gave the Phillies a 7-3 win.

c) September 17, 2016- Curtis Granderson homered in the 11th/12th inning of the Mets’ 3-2 win over the Twins.

10) Willie Mays (22) hit the most extra inning homers in baseball history. Pitcher Elroy Face (21) has given up the most extra inning taters- no one else gave up more than 14.

9) Conference USA will hold its basketball tournament the next few years at The Star in Frisco, TX, the 12,000-seat arena Jerry Jones owns that also is the home field for eight high school football teams in that city.

8) ESPN laid off 80 people a couple weeks ago, but is paying Mike Greenberg $6.5M a year to host a 3-hour morning show? What genius decided that was a good idea?

7) Division I basketball teams are poaching lot of transfers from low and mid-major teams, which is why we’ll see fewer first round upsets in NCAA tournament. Kid plays well at the lower level and it is almost like he expects a promotion to a higher-level program.

6) They have an actual payphone at Chase Field in Arizona; don’t see many of those anymore. Put a quarter in, make a phone call; they used to be everywhere, before cellphones.

4) Dodgers 6, Giants 1— Clayton Kershaw has had nine starts against the Giants where he didn’t allow a run; seven of those nine starts were in San Francisco- he has a 1.31 ERA in 20 career starts at AT&T Park.

3) Before we anoint these one-inning closers the “greatest ever” keep in mind that in 1974, Mike Marshall of the Dodgers appeared in 106 games, and threw 208.1 innings- thats just about six outs per appearance. Marshall was 15-12 with 21 saves that year for the NL Champs. In the 70’s, great relievers got more than three outs to close out games.

MINNESOTA (1 - 0) at NEW YORK (1 - 0) - 5/18/2017, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NEW YORK is 5-14 ATS (-10.4 Units) in home games over the last 2 seasons.
NEW YORK is 5-14 ATS (-10.4 Units) in a home game where where the total is greater than or equal to 150 over the last 2 seasons.
NEW YORK is 3-11 ATS (-9.1 Units) in home games in May, June, or July games over the last 2 seasons.
NEW YORK is 2-9 ATS (-7.9 Units) in home games against Western conference opponents over the last 2 seasons.
NEW YORK is 2-9 ATS (-7.9 Units) in home games in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
NEW YORK is 3-2 against the spread versus MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
NEW YORK is 3-2 straight up against MINNESOTA over the last 3 seasons
4 of 5 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

7:00 PMMINNESOTA vs. NEW YORK
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Minnesota's last 12 games when playing on the road against New York
Minnesota is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against New York
The total has gone OVER in 6 of New York's last 7 games when playing Minnesota
New York is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Minnesota

The New York Liberty won their season opener. Based on coach Bill Laimbeer's reaction, it did not seem like a win.

"I hope this is the worst game we play all year. It was awful," Laimbeer said. "We didn't execute the things we were supposed to. We didn't box out, gave up way too many offensive rebounds. Missed free throws all over the place.

"Collectively top to bottom I thought this was about as worse an effort they could have put forth and I told them so in very strong language."

On Thursday, Laimbeer hopes he won't be making similar comments when the Liberty host the Minnesota Lynx at Madison Square Garden.

The Liberty's Tina Charles scored 12 points in Saturday's 73-64 win over the San Antonio Stars.

Laimbeer was more concerned with what unfolded in the fourth quarter. The Liberty held a 17-point lead heading into the fourth but allowed San Antonio to get the deficit to nine before making enough plays to win.

"I'm very happy Bill did that," Charles said. "I've been waiting for him to do that the last three or four years I've been here."

The Liberty had four days to correct those things. Tuesday's practice ended with players ending a running drill by having to make two free throws.

The Lynx also are coming off a season-opening win, a 70-61 victory over the Chicago Sky on Sunday in their first game since a heartbreaking loss in the WNBA Finals to the Los Angeles Sparks.

Like Laimbeer, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve focused on some of the things her team did wrong. Among them was scoring just 26 points in the second half, though Reeve was not as forceful with her team as the former Detroit Pistons center was with his.

"The most important thing was winning the game," Reeve said after the game. "A lot of stuff we have to work on. Conditioning was a factor. I thought for the most part we got good shots, so just making shots when you get them. I just thought we played slow in the second half.

Sylvia Fowles led the Lynx with 26 points and 10 rebounds to offset an off day from Maya Moore. The perennial MVP candidate and 2015 WNBA finals MVP was 5 of 19 from the field, missed 10 of 11 3-point attempts and contributed 11 points.

"For the most part, I'm happy with the win, I'm happy with the way we performed, but we definitely have things to work on," Fowles said. "It was the first game, you know it's not going to be pretty."

Among those things to work on are turnovers and defensive rebounding. The Lynx committed 15 turnovers and also gave up 15 offensive rebounds, and it was an offensive rebound that decided last year's WNBA Finals.

Minnesota won two of three meetings with the Liberty last season. In the only meeting in New York, Moore scored 25 while Charles totaled 23 for New York in Minnesota's 79-69 win on May 31.

NEW YORK (AP) Maya Moore's life becomes a lot easier on offense when her Minnesota teammates are all scoring.

Moore scored 16 points to lead the balanced Lynx to a 90-71 victory over New York on Thursday night. All five of the Lynx starters were in double figures, with Lindsay Whalen and Sylvia Fowles each adding 12 points.

''When everyone gets involved and we have that balanced scoring it's a great thing for us,'' Moore said. ''We always feel better when we can play to our potential.''

New York (1-1) also may have lost point guard Brittany Boyd for a while after she injured Achilles in the fourth quarter. She will have an MRI on Friday.

''Whatever the details of the situation is. It's a business,'' said Tina Charles, who had just six points. ''People go down someone else has to step up. We'll handle it accordingly.''

New York led 45-43 before Minnesota scored 17 of the next 19 points to go up 60-47 midway through the third quarter. Whalen had the final six points during the game-changing burst.

The Lynx (2-0) were up 14 early in the fourth quarter before Boyd sparked a Liberty run. New York's point guard scored four straight to start a 7-0 run. Rebecca Allen capped it with a 3-pointer to make it 74-67, but that's as close as New York could get. Boyd finished with 16 points. Sugar Rodgers led the Liberty with 20.

New York scored the first eight points of the game before Minnesota went on a 22-6 run to take an early advantage. The Lynx led 43-40 at the half despite only four points from Moore.

JERSEY RETIREMENT: Fowles will have her jersey retired at LSU next season. The school announced it a few days ago that she'd be the 12th athlete or coach to have their jersey retired at the school. Fowles joins Minnesota teammate Seimone Augustus as the only female basketball players to have that honor at LSU.

''It means a lot to me,'' Fowles said. ''When they first called me I wasn't sure if they were being serious, but then when I knew it was for real I was so incredibly honored by it.''

Fowles, who plays in China in the winter, said she will work with the school to come up with a date that will work for the ceremony.

TIP-INS:
LYNX: Rebekkah Brunson had four rebounds and is one short of 3,000 in her career. That would make her the fifth player in league history to accomplish that feat.
LIBERTY: Charles' career low is two points, last done in 2015. ... Coach Bill Laimbeer turns 60 on Friday. His wife surprised him by flying in their son, Eric and daughter, Keri.

GETTING PRESIDENTIAL: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was at the game as well as WNBA President Lisa Borders.

PHOENIX (1 - 1) at SAN ANTONIO (0 - 2) - 5/19/2017, 8:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
PHOENIX is 14-33 ATS (-22.3 Units) in May games since 1997.
SAN ANTONIO is 16-5 ATS (+10.5 Units) after allowing 75 points or more over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
PHOENIX is 4-2 against the spread versus SAN ANTONIO over the last 3 seasons
PHOENIX is 6-1 straight up against SAN ANTONIO over the last 3 seasons
5 of 7 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

ATLANTA (1 - 0) at CHICAGO (0 - 1) - 5/19/2017, 8:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ATLANTA is 0-7 ATS (-7.7 Units) in road games when playing with 3 or more days rest over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
ATLANTA is 5-3 against the spread versus CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 5-3 straight up against ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
6 of 8 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

WASHINGTON (1 - 0) at LOS ANGELES (1 - 0) - 5/19/2017, 10:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
WASHINGTON is 295-351 ATS (-91.1 Units) in all games since 1997.
WASHINGTON is 23-12 ATS (+9.8 Units) as an underdog over the last 3 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 8-0 ATS (+8.0 Units) as a road underdog of 3.5 to 6 points over the last 2 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 57-87 ATS (-38.7 Units) in a home game where where the total is greater than or equal to 150 since 1997.
LOS ANGELES is 52-75 ATS (-30.5 Units) in home games against Eastern conference opponents since 1997.
LOS ANGELES is 52-75 ATS (-30.5 Units) in home games in non-conference games since 1997.
LOS ANGELES is 88-118 ATS (-41.8 Units) after a win by 10 points or more since 1997.
LOS ANGELES is 165-212 ATS (-68.2 Units) after scoring 75 points or more since 1997.

Head-to-Head Series History
LOS ANGELES is 4-1 against the spread versus WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
LOS ANGELES is 4-1 straight up against WASHINGTON over the last 3 seasons
5 of 5 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

8:00 PMPHOENIX vs. SAN ANTONIO
Phoenix is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
Phoenix is 2-9 SU in its last 11 games on the road
San Antonio is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Phoenix
San Antonio is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games at home

8:30 PMATLANTA vs. CHICAGO
Atlanta is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta's last 5 games when playing on the road against Chicago
Chicago is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Chicago's last 10 games at home

10:30 PMWASHINGTON vs. LOS ANGELES
Washington is 1-4-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Washington is 4-13 SU in its last 17 games
Los Angeles is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Washington
Los Angeles is 2-10 ATS in its last 12 games when playing at home against Washington

The San Antonio Stars hope playing at home makes a winning difference when they host the Phoenix Mercury on Friday at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

The Stars (0-2) had the worst record in the WNBA last season and has stumbled out of the gate in 2017, losing on the road at New York (73-64) and Washington (89-74) on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. San Antonio's Monique Currie scored a career-high 31 points in the loss to Washington after pouring in 23 versus New York.

San Antonio hopes that rookie Kelsey Plum -- the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I history in her four years at the University of Washington -- is able to play Friday. Plum was WNBA's No. 1 draft pick, but she missed the first two games after injuring her ankle during preseason practice.

"It was a freak thing -- I never missed a game in my college career," Plum said. "It's frustrating. We'll get our pieces back. I'm trying to be patient, but it's not a good virtue of mine. I'm walking around in rehab doing different stuff, swimming twice a day."

The Stars are also without star guard Kayla McBride, their leading scorer last season, who is still in Turkey with her team Yakin Dogu, which is playing a best-of-five series for the Turkish League championship.

"I think we can build on the two losses -- we played hard, but we didn't play smart," Stars coach Vickie Johnson said. "We hustled and played every possession like it was the last. We are trying to change the culture of this team but it can't be done overnight. Right now, we just want to play and have fun and learn to trust each other."

Phoenix (1-1) heads to the road for the first time after splitting its initial two games at home. The Mercury lost to the Dallas Wings 68-58 on Sunday before rebounding for an 85-62 victory over Indiana on Wednesday behind Brittney Griner's career-high 32 points and 10 rebounds.

Griner shot 13-of-15 from the floor and now has scored at least 15 points in a career-best seven straight regular-season games going back to 2016. She scored 21 points in the first half as Phoenix used a 15-0 run in the second quarter to help build a 52-29 halftime lead and cruised home.

"My teammates got me into it," Griner said. "Credit to them, I can't get it in to myself. It does feel good putting that underneath my belt. It was like it's going to be a defensive night for me then it just started coming."

The Mercury is off to a better start than last season when it lost its first four games.

Phoenix guard Diana Taurasi, who on Tuesday signed a multi-year contract extension with the Mercury, had six rebounds in the win over Indiana, surpassing 1,500 for her career. She is the only WNBA player with 7,000 points, 1,500 rebounds and 1,500 assists. Taurasi also passed Katie Smith for the most 3-point attempts in WNBA history.

"That opener was really our third preseason game," Taurasi said. "Basketball is all about synergy and rhythm and knowing where the next person is going to be. To have that switch flipped in 48 hours means this team was ready and focused and all the things (coach) Sandy (Brondello) wanted us to do."

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- The Chicago Sky will present a new look as they play their 12th WNBA home opener on Friday vs. the Atlanta Dream at Allstate Arena.

There's a new coach/general manager (Amber Stock) plus a scattering of familiar faces, including veteran guards Tamara Young and Cappie Pondexter.

There's also no more Elena Delle Donne.

Delle Donne, the team's leading scorer (21.5 points) and former WNBA most valuable player, was traded to Washington in the offseason.

Six-year head coach Pokey Chatman, who guided Chicago to the 2014 WNBA Finals, was also let go.

But the 2017 group and new regime is coming together.

"We've had the time in practice to get our chemistry down, and my major thing is communicating," Young said. "It doesn't matter if you have new coaches or new players. If you communicate and practice, the chemistry will come."

The Sky (0-1) dropped a 70-61 decision to Minnesota in last Sunday's season opener as Young collected 14 points and eight rebounds off the bench.

Chicago's roster currently features five returning players, including Imani Boyette, Jessica Breland and Cheyenne Parker along with Pondexter and Young. Allie Quigley and Courtney Vandersloot are also expected back after they complete international competition.

Pondexter was the team's No. 2 scorer last season (12.9 points) while Young averaged 8.5 points.

Stock spent two seasons as a Los Angeles Sparks assistant coach but also has an extensive basketball background over the past 18 years.

"I don't have expectations to make or not make the playoffs," Stocks told the Chicago Tribune recently. "My expectations are for us to take one game at a time and compete. If we concentrate on the process, the process of being the best we can be ... the playoffs and beyond will take care of themselves."

The Dream (1-0) are looking for their second road win after an 81-74 season-opening triumph at Connecticut.

But Atlanta is without top scorer and playmaker Angel McCoughtry, who announced she is sitting out the 2017 season.

"After much thought and consideration, I have decided to take some time off," McCoughtry said in statement in January. "I know this decision will allow me to come back and play to the best of my ability."

That leaves on-court leadership responsibilities to players like shooting guard Tiffany Hayes, now in her sixth WNBA season.

Hayes hit 11 of 12 free throws and scored 19 points, including a late 3-pointer, as the Dream beat the Sun for the sixth straight time last Saturday.

Atlanta was 17-17 during the 2016 season and was eliminated by the Sky in the second round of the playoffs.

Chicago is coming off an 18-16 record in 2016, the third-best in franchise history, and reached the WNBA playoff semifinals before being eliminated.

The reigning WNBA champion Los Angeles Sparks will get their first look at one of the league's premier players in a new uniform Friday night when the Washington Mystics visit Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles (1-0) opened the season with a 78-68 victory over the Seattle Storm last weekend. Nneka Ogwumike, the 2016 WNBA MVP, scored 23 points in the win for the Sparks.

Newcomer Odyssey Sims, acquired in a trade with the Dallas Wings, came off the bench to record 20 points and six assists. Chelsea Gray had 14 points and eight assists.

Washington (1-0) posted an 89-74 victory over the San Antonio Stars in its season opener. Elena Delle Donne scored 24 points in her debut for the Mystics, who acquired the 2015 WNBA MVP in an offseason trade with the Chicago Sky. Tayler Hill scored 15 points and Emma Meesseman had 13 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Delle Donne was limited to 23 minutes due to foul trouble but seemed to fit in nicely when she was on the floor, making 8 of 12 field-goal attempts.

Kristi Toliver, who left Los Angeles after the Sparks defeated the Minnesota Lynx to win last year's WNBA championship, was held to eight points on 2-of-6 shooting.

Delle Donne, who requested a trade after four seasons in Chicago, said she was happy with her new surroundings.

"This is exactly what I was hoping for and even more," Delle Donne told ESPN.com. "I knew coming here this team had chemistry. But when you get here and you feel it and experience it, it's even better than I imagined. It's so fun to play with so much talent and so many options."

The Sparks, who also won WNBA titles in 2001 and 2002, raised their newest championship banner before their game against Seattle. They postponed their ring ceremony until Friday due to the absences of Candace Parker, Jantel Lavender and Essence Carson, who were still playing for their respective teams in Hungary. All three were expected to return to Los Angeles in time for Friday's game.

"It's just part of our league," Sparks coach Brian Agler told the Los Angeles Times. "It's part of the dynamics of women's basketball at the pro level. It's not like that on the men's side. On the women's side, they're playing overseas. They come back and they get integrated at different times."

— Nationals, Twins are only teams with an extra base hit in every game this season.

— RIP Wayne Walker, a LB for the Lions who also their punter, then later a good announcer on TV. There was a time when punters played other positions; Walker was a very good LB.

— NASCAR driver Alric Almirola is out 8-12 weeks with a broken vertebrae after his scary accident at Bristol Motor Speedway.

— Jason deGrom pitched seven innings last nite, the first time in 18 games a Mets’ starting pitcher got an out after the sixth inning.

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Armadillo: Saturday's List of 13: Clearing out a cluttered mind……

13) Paolo Espino is 30 years old; he’s pitched in the minor leagues for 10 years— 291 games, 191 starts, 1,304 IP. Finally, this week he got the call to the major leagues and started for Milwaukee at Wrigley Field Friday.

Imagine the emotion he felt? How excited he must’ve been? His dad flew all the way from Panama to see the game. Luckily for him, the wind was whipping hard and it was blowing in, which makes Wrigley a supreme pitchers’ park.

12) Brandon Kintzner is the Twins’ closer; he’s 32 years old, from Palo Verde HS in Las Vegas and Dixie State in Utah. Back in 2009, he was offered a chance to try out for the role of Tim Hudson in Moneyball, but chose instead to play in an independent league all-star game.

Luckily for him, the Brewers spotted him at the All-Star Game, signed him to a minor league deal and he made it to Miller Park the next year. Now he is the Twins’ closer and a good one.

11) Jose Abreu hasn’t homered in 66 plate appearances at home this year; he’s hit seven in 95 PA’s on the road. That could be weather-related; Abreu’s bat has often heated up when the weather does. Hasn’t been too warm on the south side of Chicago this spring.

10) Quick story from my days coaching Little League:

I was an assistant coach; my future ex-wife’s nephew was on the team, which wasn’t a good team. I’m warming up our starting pitcher at practice one night; he throws strikes, but didn’t throw hard, but at least he throws strikes.

After three pitches, the kid says to me, “You know, I can pitch left-handed.” I’m thinking to myself, “Kid, you can barely pitch right-handed.” But our team wasn’t good, so I tell him to throw me a couple left-handed.

Well, what do you know; the kid threw much harder, and a heavy ball— he was good!!!! I’m like, what took you so long to tell us? Now I have to break the news to our head coach without him thinking I’m pranking him.

We didn’t have a good season, but the kid did real well pitching lefty (he also was a catcher and played righty as a catcher); he would’ve made the All-Star team except his dad got transferred out-of-state for work so the family moved as soon as school got out.

Just goes to show you; keep your ears open. You never know what you might hear.

9) Anaheim Ducks’ Corey Perry has three overtime goals in the NHL playoffs this spring, the first player to do that since Maurice Richard in 1951.

8) There have been 26 overtime games in the NHL playoffs this spring; the record is 28 (1993), they had 27 in 2013. Playoff hockey is way more fun to watch than the NBA playoffs.

7) When the Las Vegas Golden Knights have their expansion draft next month (yes, the NHL has a team in Las Vegas now), the Knights will select 30 players- they have to take at least one player from every team in the league.

6) Stayed up late Thursday night watching a replay of Super Bowl XIV, from January of 1980, Rams-Steelers. Long time ago, but I had never seen the replay of that game. Rams had won seven division titles in a row, but only made the Super Bowl in ’79 after they started the season 4-5 and survived a bunch of injuries.

Some observations from the broadcast:
— Football was way different in 1980; guys got hit out of bounds a few times- no flags.
— TV graphics were obviously way worse; no game clock on the screen until the last minute.
— CBS analyst Tom Brookshier wouldn’t have lasted two weeks in today’s politically correct world. He was funny as hell and told the truth, but people today don’t always want the truth.
— The whole world is so different now; there were over 100,000 people there, doubt any of them had phones in their pockets. How many people go to games now without a cellphone?
— Rams basically played that Super Bowl at home, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. It was their last year at the Coliseum before they moved to Anaheim.
— Teams substituted so much less then than they do now, from play-to-play.

5) Miami Marlins hired former big league OF Todd Hollandworth as a TV analyst this year; he is very good, and for one reason— Marlins’ broadcasts are like listening to Hollandsworth and Rich Waltz sit around and talk about ball. They’re not announcing the game as much as they’re just talking about baseball and having a good time. Very relaxed; fun to listen to.

4) My personal opinion on the NBA Draft is this: If I ran an NBA franchise and could take Lonzo Ball, I wouldn’t let his father’s antics make me pick someone else.

That is assuming I thought Ball was the best player available and fitted what my team needed. UCLA had a terrific season this past year; the kid is a really good player. NBA players are well-versed in tuning out distractions.

3) Ryan Fitzpatrick signed as a free agent QB with the Buccaneers; if he throws a pass for Tampa Bay this season, he’ll be the sixth QB in NFL history to throw a pass for seven different teams, joining: Jeff Blake, Steve Bono, Chris Chandler, Gus Frerotte and Vinny Testaverde.

2) Je’rell Springer didn’t play HS basketball last winter due to eligibility issues after he changed schools in Las Vegas, but he got a scholarship from Southern Utah anyway, turning down BYU, an unusual choice. Springer is a great get for the Big Sky’s Thunderbirds.

1) Will Nerd Power catch on in Milwaukee? Eric Sogard (he wears glasses when he plays) came up to the Brewers this week and went 10-17 (.588) in his first six games with the Crew, with two 4-hit games. This is the same guy who hit .239 in 1,210 AB’s over six years in Oakland.

Sogard was once a 2nd round draft pick by the Padres out of Arizona State; terrific fielder. Wish he had hit like this for the A’s.

My condolences to Brewers’ TV analyst Bill Schroeder, whose mom passed away this week. I lost my dad two years ago last night; miss him every day.